Heat treatment technology for improving wear resistance of high‑precision die tools

A heat treatment process involving hardening with intermediate tempering has been developed to enhance the wear resistance of high‑precision die tools by 1.5–2 times compared to standard heat treatments. When heating for hardening above 1150 °C, secondary carbides dissolve intensively, austenite grain growth occurs, and there is a marked increase in retained austenite. The most suitable approach proved to be intermediate tempering at 600 °C, which avoids significant austenite grain growth with increasing initial hardening temperature, resulting in a fine to medium needle‑like martensitic structure with some residual austenite.